Expect
I felt lips brush my bare shoulder before the covers were pulled over it.
I blinked to kinda/sorta awake.
“Good morning, my love,” Tanyn whispered.
He was so lovely.
“Morning,” I mumbled.
“Go back to sleep.”
“’Kay.”
My eyes drifted shut, but I heard his feet on the floor (and Hurley’s), a door closed…
And I went back to sleep.
I was making up my mind.
I was going to have to quit my job.
This was my thought, sitting in my study, the promised report from Barret and Camaryn on my lapcomp, but I wasn’t reading it.
I’d also spoken to Laura, who in turn got in touch with Queen Calisa, who in turn had her aide send me their own report about salary scales for staff at the Celestial Palace.
But I wasn’t perusing that either.
I was realizing I needed to come to terms with the fact that, although my job had deskwork, most of the time I was on the floor, or meeting with artists, or caterers, florists and printers, if we had a showing coming up. Or wining and dining our clients.
Although Lua was comming frequently to ask what to do about this or that, since I’d asked her to take all my appointments while I was away, it felt more like I was intermittently training my replacement than doing my job from afar.
I knew this was in the cards. I’d even told Lua to make that extra effort so the way was clear for her promotion.
But it was becoming even clearer I was going to have to let go of the last vestiges of my life in Nocturn.
And that meant I should probably talk to Tanyn about putting my flat on the market.
Ulk.
I was circling my Palm end to end on the desk, and I watched my hand doing it.
I did this because I was procrastinating.
I had to quit procrastinating.
I had to know.
And there was only one person I could ask.
Therefore, it was time to let go of the last vestiges of something else.
As such, I commed my father.
He answered in one ring.
“I see Tanyn didn’t mess around with his response to that trash that was printed about you yesterday,” Dad said as greeting.
Wait.
What?
“Sorry?”
“The official announcement from the castle,” Dad said, then amended, “No, it was from the king.”
I knew, because Tanyn told me last night he’d talked Mira into staying. I also knew, again because he told me last night he’d tasked her with dealing with that issue.
I just didn’t know anything was done about it.
I put the Palm on speaker, reached to my lapcomp, and said, “That isn’t what I’m calling about.”
“What are you calling about? Are you and Tanyn all right?”
“We’re fine. We’re good,” I muttered distractedly as I read the headlines from the pane I’d pulled up.
King Tanyn Declares Lady Love Off-Limits.
Holy Hecate.
“Catla?” Dad called.
I tore my attention from the display of my comp and went back to Dad.
“I wanted to ask you something,” I told him.
“Ask away,” he invited.
It was so irritating when Dad was awesome after he’d been not-so-awesome.
“How did you know Mom was the one?”
There was a long, loaded silence before he queried, “The one?”
“Yes, Dad, you can read from that I have feelings for Tanyn, which you already knew, and it’s bad form to rub it in. And yes, you can read from me coming to you about it that they’re strong.”
“But you still have concerns?”
“Not really. It’s just…it seems to be happening very fast. And it feels like it’s something more.”
“Falling in love is a lot, my darling,” he said kindly.
Was it just that?
“You know I dated, and I did it quite a bit,” I reminded him.
“I do know that.”
“I tried to find someone. I was open to it.”
“I believe you.”
“They just weren’t…”
“…the one,” he filled in for me.
“So? How did you know about Mom?”
“One afternoon, I text commed her. She didn’t reply.
Not unusual, so I left an a-comm. She didn’t return it.
She never left it long in getting back to me.
But I again texted, just to ask her to reply and let me know she was all right.
And when she didn’t, I left another a-comm, sharing the same.
As the minutes moved into over an hour, there’s no other way to describe my reaction. I panicked.”
The thought of my father feeling that emotion absolutely stunned me.
He was always a totally together male (when he wasn’t angry, and that was annoying too—the together part, and obviously the angry part).
“Panicked?”
“Fear took hold. Honestly, my lovely girl, it was crippling. I thought something had happened to her. The thought of a life without her in it had me in a stranglehold. I left work, got right in my craft, went to her job and only felt better when I saw her. Of course, after that, we had a wild row. But during it, I learned she’d bought a new Palm, it had a battery glitch and had run out of power.
We ended the row with me asking her to marry me. ”
Excuse me?
“Wait, I thought you proposed during a picnic in Crimson Park.”
“That’s when I gave her the ring and it became official.” I could hear the humor in his tone when he said, “And it was a much prettier picture to give our daughter than me shouting at Freya that I wanted her to be my wife.”
And I understood his humor.
“Ah,” I said.
“Can I make a suggestion?” he requested.
“Shoot,” I invited.
“Don’t overthink it. Just let it happen.
It’s early days, and I’ll admit, in those days, when you’re attracted to someone and it starts to dawn you’re going to fit, emotions are heightened.
It can be overwhelming. Exciting, but also frightening.
Try to let those go and just let the relationship build naturally. ”
“But this feels like something…”
“…more?” Again, he filled in for me.
“Yes.”
“That’s called falling in love, my darling,” he said warmly.
And yes.
A little smugly.
Okay, this was the worst.
But I had to get it over with.
“I’m not going to thank you because of how this came about,” I announced.
“Of course,” he murmured.
“I am going to thank you because he’s pretty mega,” I forced out.
Dad had a hand in making me and forming me, so he was smart enough not to reply.
“That said, I give Tanyn the credit for that,” I added.
“As you should.”
At least we were agreed on that.
Dad changed the subject. “Tanyn says they’re working hard to get a handle on things.”
“You and Tanyn talk?”
“Not daily, but he holds my daughter’s safety in his hands, so he keeps me informed.”
I supposed I could give him that.
“Yes. They are,” I confirmed. “Working very hard, that is. And maybe getting an understanding of a few things.”
Dad summed it up succinctly. “History is full of cowards who fear progress.”
Too true.
“It’s also full of assholes who get off on amassing power, wielding it and doing shitty things with it, and even shittier things in order not to lose it,” I added.
“Sadly, this is correct,” Dad agreed.
He and I chatted for a bit. We made tentative plans for Tanyn and I to come for dinner before we returned to Sky’s Edge after the engagement party. And we rang off.
It was then I could finally give my full attention to the article I’d pulled up.
It read:
Official word released yesterday from Berg Castle, stated directly from King Tanyn himself, confirms he is courting Catla Truelock, of the Night’s Fall Truelocks.
He also reminded the citizens of Sky’s Edge, “The Demon Rift occurred 481 years ago. This was not a laudable time in Edgian history. But now is a good time to remind the beings of the Edge that the demons in those days were forced out of their homes and away from all they knew due to the tyrannical actions of a king. I believe we have all recently been reminded of how hopeless that feels. But as ever, we rise. We fight. We hope. And we work for better. In this instance, your future queen could be asked to leave her home and all she knows to be at my side, and to serve you. If it is to be Catla, I have no concerns she will earn your respect. In the meantime, I expect it.”
“Well, damn,” I whispered, feeling veritably gooey, and shocker: not minding it.
I read on.
This statement is surely in response to Sky Tales breaking the story that King Tanyn is courting the Fallian female.
The facts: Catla Truelock, 31, is the director of an art gallery in Nocturn, Tempera.
She recently scored a showing of the venerated but reclusive artist, Terrinton’s latest works.
She’s an honors graduate of Duepur University, majoring in art and art history.
She’s the sole heiress to the famed Truelock fortune.
And it has been confirmed by the Celestial Palace that she is in the inner circle of Laura, the True Bride…
It went on with tidbits about me, all true, all trivial, all positive.
What was not trivial was…
In the meantime, I expect it.
Damn, my male was a good male.
I nabbed my Palm and typed in, You and Mira didn’t let grass grow.
To which he didn’t wait to reply, You saw it?
It’s mega.
Pleased you approve. Then came, Can you lunch with me?
“Just try to keep me away,” I muttered to my Palm.
I can carve out the time.
He sent that small heart growing to the big one and exploding.
And I smiled.
I felt my hair brushed away from my neck.
Then I felt a kiss there.
My eyes fluttered open.
“Good morning, my love,” Tanyn whispered.
“Morning,” I mumbled.
“Go back to sleep,” he urged.
I felt his lips at my temple.
Vaguely.
Because I was already asleep.
Late morning, I was giving my cute snow boots another workout by standing in the half inch of snow covering the garden, and throwing a ball for Hurley, when I felt his approach.
Hurley abandoned me and raced to his daddy.
I just turned to his daddy.
“Hey,” I greeted.
When Tanyn arrived at me, he bent to take the ball from Hurley, threw it (a lot farther then I could), then rested his hand on my hip and angled in for a quick kiss.
“Hey,” he said when it was done.
“Taking a break from kingly duties?” I joked.
“In a manner,” he replied and bent again when Hurley returned with the ball. He sent it sailing and came back to me. “Mostly, we’ve heard from the chemists who were analyzing the results of the blood taken from our prisoners.”
Oh.
Good.
“And?”